


Devilish Maknae

by kyaappucino



Category: VIXX
Genre: :D, Bakery AU, M/M, dough punching, it's just all sorts of cute, just trying my hand at some luck, kingdom hearts reference, stress management cookies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 05:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7253569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyaappucino/pseuds/kyaappucino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His father wouldn’t allow him to open a bakery, insisting that his son had far more talent than that. Jung Taekwoon is a determined man, however, and gets a job (and possibly more) as an employee at Paradise Bakery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Devilish Maknae

**Author's Note:**

  * For [meanderingmirth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meanderingmirth/gifts).



> I have microfic sessions on Twitter, and one of them was a Bakery AU featuring Leo and Hyuk. I liked it, and it grew, and now I get to share it with you, yay! Gift for meanderingmirth, the lovable and creative croissant.（‐＾▽＾‐）I hope you like it omg :’D

His father had insisted that starting a bakery had been quite risky, especially for a fresh graduate from culinary school. Taekwoon looked into his father’s eyes and said politely, “but it’s my dream.” He was met with his strict father’s cold eyes (and even colder) voice, telling him to eat his food and to stop being an ungrateful child.

But when Jung Taekwoon wanted something, he would stop at nothing to get it. His father had cut him off from using their family’s money (“No disobedient child of mine is going to use his talents to open a tiny bakery!”) so he’d done the next best thing to opening a bakery.

He’d gotten a _job_  at a bakery.

And that was how Jung Taekwoon, youngest and only son of Latte Fairy Corporation was employed at Paradise Bakery, owned by Cha Hakyeon. He remembered the first day his two sisters had entered for the first time. They were both beautiful and elegant, the eldest choosing some warm coffee buns and his second-eldest sister decided to buy some strawberry shortcake.

Taekwoon was silent as he rang up their purchases and gave both of his sisters a rare little smile. “I hope you have a good day today.”

“Every day you defy our father is a good day,” laughs his eldest sister taking their purchases from him, neatly placed in a paper bag. His second-eldest sister rummages through her coat pocket and gives him a plain white envelope. When he doesn’t accept it right away she narrows her eyes at him and he bows his head and grabs the envelope, cheeks tinged a delicate pink.

“Honestly,” said the second-eldest, lightly stroking his cheek. “It’s like you aren’t our baby brother. It’s a gift from the two of us. And mom.” This earned her a small smile and he pockets the envelope.

Since being cut off from their family’s money, his older sisters would stop by and slip him extra whenever they could. He made a mental note to visit Coco, the friendly dog that stayed at Hongbin’s pet clinic, where his second-eldest sister worked.

“Say hi to Coco for me,” he says softly as they turn to leave. His second-eldest sister waves at him in response. “He misses you, stop by the clinic more often!” The little bell hanging on the door rings as they leave, and he’s left alone again at the cash register, taking in the view of the shop.

There were rows and rows of neatly stacked bread and pastries displayed, and each had a different name. When he wasn’t on the register, Taekwoon was an apprentice baker to Cha Hakyeon and endeavored to earn the right to create his own bread. Today’s bread of the day was called “Sunshine,” inspired by the owner’s partner.

* * *

_Speak of the devil and he appears_ , Taekwoon thought as the door swung open, and Kim Wonshik strode in. Sunshine was named for the candied lemon-flavored filling in the bread, representing his boss’s sunny disposition. “Hey,” he says, completely breathless, his white shirt stained with sweat. There’s a duffle bag slung on his shoulder and he’s wearing red shorts, feet tucked into brightly-colored running shoes. Taekwoon wrinkles his nose, earning a laugh from Wonshik. “Is that any way to treat your boss?”

“You could have showered before entering…” Taekwoon comments. Judging by the duffle bag and his boss’s state of dress, he walked straight from the gym until he reached the bakery. “Will you have the usual?” Wonshik nods and takes a tray and pair of tongs, turning away from the register to look at all the bread on display.

“Taekwoonie, come to the back, I need to teach you how—“ Hakyeon’s words are cut short when he sees Wonshik, and he suddenly turns shy, patting his apron free of flour. Taekwoon bites back a smile and pats Hakyeon’s brown head free of flour before giving him a gentle push towards Hakyeon’s partner and boyfriend.

Hakyeon was only halfway across the bakery when Wonshik turns around, the light in his smile increasing tenfold. He almost drops the tray of goodies as he gives Hakyeon a quick kiss on the cheek. “No hugs, I’m sweaty.”

And Hakyeon, of course ignores this and embraces Wonshik anyway before grabbing the tray from his boyfriend. “I’ll ring these up,” he says and Taekwoon nods, getting the hint. “I’ll work on the second batch of bread.” As he enters the back of the bakery, he catches Wonshik kissing the tip of Hakyeon’s nose, and mutters to himself, “Gross.”

Hakyeon giggles and replies, “When you fall in love, maybe you’ll be gross too, Woonie-ah.”

Taekwoon shakes his head and laughs before he disappears completely, preparing to make the afternoon batch of bread.

“I’ll believe it when it happens.”

* * *

As it turns out, the day Jung Taekwoon falls in love was on a rainy Friday afternoon. They had just finished plowing through the lunch rush, handing out pastries and bread to hungry students and office workers. Now the shop was nearly empty—of people as well as inventory. Hakyeon had asked the other baker, Lee Jaehwan to buy more ingredients while Taekwoon was busy at the back, trying his best to fill up cream puffs. His boss was always stressing about squeezing out the filling with a light hand, but it was his hands that were the problem.

Taekwoon had grasped the cream puff with his left hand, but no sooner had he squeezed the custard into it—he’d done it again. His left hand had managed to crush the little cream puff; it wasn’t fit to be displayed on the counter. Sighing, he popped it into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. The custard cream was yellow and rich, dotted with dainty vanilla beans. The pastry itself was tender and moist on the inside.

At least he knew how to  _make_  cream puffs. He just didn’t know how to fill them. He grabbed another cream puff from the pile and carefully made an x using the tip of his knife before gently filling it up with custard. So far, so good. When a little of the filling was peeking through, he removed the pastry bag and smiled. Carefully, he set the finished cream puff aside to show Hakyeon—after filling a few more cream puffs. He had to be sure it wasn’t just beginner’s luck.

Unfortunately, beginner’s luck was all it was. After that one perfect little puff Taekwoon seemed to have a knack for crushing the creampuffs in his hand. After the seventh cream puff had fallen apart, Taekwoon pinched the bridge of his nose and decided it was time to take a small coffee break. “Hakyeon-ah,” He called as he went up to the register. “do we have any—“ his sentence was cut short when he saw Hakyeon rubbing a white towel over someone’s head, drying the hair underneath. Hanging on a nearby chair was a dark grey blazer, soaked through with rain and dripping water on the ground.

He should get a mop. Taekwoon was about to look for the supply closet when he heard Hakyeon scold gently, “Really, Hyuk-ah—your mother will kill me if she sees you like this.”

“Sorry, hyung. It’s just, the driver wasn’t back yet and it started to rain…” Taekwoon took a liking to the voice as soon as he heard it—it was boyish but had an underlying tone of strength. When the owner of the voice looked up, bright brown eyes locked with deep black and for a moment, the only things Taekwoon was aware of was the sound of rain coupled with the warm smile that beamed from underneath a mop of dripping black hair.

“Hello? Taekwoonie, are you okay? What were you asking for?” A snap of Hakyeon’s fingers dragged Taekwoon away from the stranger’s eyes and managed to mumble out, “Coffee. I was wondering if we still had coffee.”

“Coffee sounds good. Can I get a cup too, hyung?” Hakyeon turned to the stranger with a wary smile. “Sure. Lots of milk and su—ow!” Hakyeon yelped as the stranger slapped him on the shoulder, and Taekwoon couldn’t help chuckling.

“We have time before the dinner rush. Taekwoonie, this is Sanghyuk, my nephew. Hyukkie, wait in the back. I’ll make us coffee.”

* * *

After he and Sanghyuk were formally introduced, Hakyeon’s nephew seemed to drop by the shop almost every Friday. In the beginning it was for little things; Taekwoon would hear Sanghyuk’s voice from the front of the shop asking for breads, cakes and cookies with names that he was pretty sure didn’t even  _exist_.

“What’s paopu fruit?” He had asked when Hakyeon came to the back, leaving Jaehwan to mind the storefront for awhile. Sanghyuk had said goodbye and closed the door with a bang that made him wince.

At least now he knows that Sanghyuk and Hakyeon are in fact, related. They were just loud in completely different ways.

“Oh, you heard him? It’s from some game he’s playing nowadays. You’d think he wasn’t an adult…”

That evening, Taekwoon returns home and mumbles a greeting towards his father, who was eating dinner alone. The older man doesn’t even acknowledge him–not even a nod. With a shrug of his shoulders, the young baker goes upstairs to his own room and looks up paopu fruit.

He immediately wishes it were real; he certainly wouldn’t mind sharing an entire destiny with that boy.

Later that night, he dreams of beaches and star-shaped fruits, and pressing bits of it into Sanghyuk’s waiting, eager mouth.

Eventually, Sanghyuk drops his reasons and appears at the shop just because he wants to be there.  Not that Taekwoon cared, really. He just wished that he looked more put together, or Sanghyuk would look a little bit disheveled, his hair tossed carelessly and his suit crumpled on the fl—

Taekwoon punched the dough he was kneading for this morning’s honey bread. He had to focus on work.

“Hyung, what did that dough ever do to you?!” Jaehwan asked as he took out trays of egg bread from the oven. Taekwoon sighed. “Nothing.” His co-worker tilted his head to one side and said, “But hyung that’s no way to get the air out of dough…unless that’s dough for Stress Management Cookies.”

“Is there such a thing?” Taekwoon asked, clearly interested. Anything that would give him an excuse to punch the life out of dough (while trying to ignore his thoughts about Hakyeon’s hot nephew) sounded pretty good right now. “Ah, right. Hakyeon-hyung hasn’t shown you where all of the store’s recipes are kept.” Jaehwan rummaged through a cupboard and brought out a wooden box, full of index cards.

“I never knew Hakyeon was old-fashioned.” Taekwoon couldn’t help himself from blurting out the words—didn’t most bakeries do everything using LCD screens and technology now? Jaehwan fished out a card that said ‘Stress Management Cookies’ in red Sharpie. “He’s a bit of a romantic, our boss…anyway, here. It’s a good recipe when you’re angry about something.” With that, the recipe box went back inside the cupboard.

He peered down at the recipe card and chuckled at the instructions. “DON’T USE ELECTRIC MIXER WITH THIS RECIPE.” Apparently you were supposed to use your fists instead of the mixer, or a rolling pin. He decided to make some later after baking the honey bread for Wonshik’s test kitchen.

It was still on his mind as Taekwoon pushed the loaf pan into the oven. Stress management. It _was_  true that his chest tightened up each time he saw Sanghyuk, and had a hard time breathing whenever the younger boy would playfully enter the back room. Sometimes he wondered if Sanghyuk entered the bakery on purpose—there was no way he required breakfast (one order of egg bread to compliment his morning coffee) from the same place every day, right?

Hakyeon’s nephew must have been a creature of habit.

* * *

The next time Taekwoon sees Sanghyuk, it was an early morning in June and he’s busy baking some Stress Management Cookies. He still hadn’t mastered the technique to perfectly filling cream puffs, but he was more than ready to punch dough and pour all sorts of toppings onto the cookies. Next to him is a steel bowl full of crushed pretzel bits, chocolate chips, marshmallows and even gummy candies.

He was just about to put his fist through the lump of dough when someone gently touched his shoulder. Completely surprised, Taekwoon’s fist nearly connected—but he managed to stop himself just in time. It would be a waste to see Han Sanghyuk’s eye black and blue.

“Woah, remind me never to surprise you next time.”

Taekwoon blushed and said softly, “Don’t…sneak up on me like that.” Was it so difficult to have a  _normal_ pulse rate each time Sanghyuk was in the same room? “Did you want anything?” he asked, curious now. Sanghyuk had shed his blazer and was now in a crisp white shirt and black tie.

Sanghyuk reached into the steel bowl and grabbed a handful of sweets, picking out the marshmallows and dumping them back into the bowl. “Was looking for Hakyeon-hyung, but he went out.” He hopped onto the counter, not far from where Taekwoon was working and chewed thoughtfully, swinging his legs back and forth every now and then.

Taekwoon had flattened the dough long enough, and added the various pretzels, chocolate chips and marshmallows to the dough. He thought against adding the gummies, as they might just melt in the heat of the oven. 

As he rolled the dough into a long log, Sanghyuk started to talk.

“Do you like working for Hakyeon-hyung?”

Taekwoon had wrapped the dough in cling wrap to steady it as he made the dough snake for cookies. “Well…yeah, I do. Why?”

“I couldn’t tell. You should smile more, I think.” 

Taekwoon raised an eyebrow and glanced at the young boy who was now flipping through one of Wonshik’s handwritten recipe books. “Make sure you put that back…and I’m very happy working here.” Unknowingly, he had smiled, and from the top of the book, Sanghyuk was peering at Taekwoon.

“It’s my dream to open up my own bakery someday.”

In a flash, Sanghyuk had put down the recipe book and had said quietly, so soft and in Taekwoon’s ear–”I take it back. Don’t smile anymore. You look really cute.”

Sanghyuk’s breath smelled vaguely sweet, and his cologne smelled of musk. It assaulted Taekwoon’s senses, and he squeezed the cookie dough log so hard that it disintegrated onto the table.

“Um.” 

Suddenly the younger boy was walking past him and towards the front of the store, where he heard Hakyeon and Jaehwan’s surprised laughter.

Face red, Taekwoon concentrated on making the stress management cookies and for the rest of the day, resolutely refused to smile.

* * *

“Here again, Sanghyuk? Do you miss me that much?” Hakyeon asks jokingly, stifling a grin behind his hand. The younger boy stuck out his tongue and replied, “Of course not, I came here to see Taekwoon-hyung.” There was an odd gleam in Hakyeon’s eye as he said softly, “You just missed him though—he left to buy some more ingredients. He’s making something.”

“Making…?” Sanghyuk asked. His eyes strayed over to the calendar and he was shocked. Had it really been four months since he dropped by the bakery every day? His friends had joked that Sanghyuk was becoming addicted to the sweets in Hakyeon’s bakery. To shut them up, he’d been buying at least one of every item his uncle had in stock.

“Yes. He still can’t make creampuffs right, silly Taekwoonie. He has huge hands, right—so whenever he tries to fill in the creampuffs, they just get smashed in between his fingers.” Hakyeon was refilling the bread baskets as he spoke, so he couldn’t see the smile that spread onto his nephew’s face.

That sounded positively _adorable._

“So do all your employees have to go through this, hyung?” Sanghyuk asked, putting his briefcase down to one side.

Hakyeon laughed. “Does everyone who want to work for your father have to become an intern?”

“That depends—do all the bakers here get a commission every time they successfully sell something?” Hakyeon shook his head. “No, but if they master making one of my pastries, I let them create their own baked good. If Taekwoon ever masters creampuffs, he can add his bread to my shop’s menu.”

“But is he good at it, hyung?” Sanghyuk asks, voice small. In response, the shop owner took a large, individual slice of Paradise Bakery’s Chocolate Loaf and reached into another basket for a blueberry muffin. “Here. Try to guess which one Taekwoon made.”

From the back of the room, Jaehwan watched as Sanghyuk ate both treats. When the back door opened, Taekwoon walked inside, his arms full of ingredients for creampuffs. “What’re you watching?” He asked Jaehwan, who was currently smirking, one of his hands thrust inside his apron pocket.

“Our boss just gave Hyukkie a taste test.”

Taekwoon concentrated on making the pastry cream, listening intently.

Sanghyuk looked at the chocolate slice before taking a bite. It was moist and warm, the taste bittersweet. It was a dark chocolate loaf, but it didn’t remind him of the tall, broad-shouldered baker. If any, it just reminded him of Wonshik.

“Not this one.” Hakyeon smiled at that, and nodded. “Right. I made that one. Now, here’s a muffin. Today, Jaehwan and Taekwoon both made muffins—but one of them made strawberry. Which one do you prefer?”

“Wow, he’s good. When Hakyeon-hyung gave me the test I thought you made the chocolate loafs.” Jaehwan said. “Were you the one who made the muffins?”

Taekwoon carefully placed a tall glass on the counter and put the pastry bag in it, ready to be filled with slightly sweetened cream. “I made strawberry muffins today, not blueberry.”

Sanghyuk stuck his tongue out and said, “Hyung, you know the answer to that. I love strawberries.”

When he heard that, Taekwoon dropped what he was doing and stood beside the doorway with Jaehwan, heart in his throat. Jaehwan and Taekwoon watched as Sanghyuk took a bite of strawberry muffin, chewing thoughtfully. The outside was a bit crisp, while the inside was soft and warm, and there were lots of tart strawberries in each bite, interlaced with a bit of sweet white cream.

He’d almost consumed the entire thing before he remembered that Hakyeon was waiting for an answer.

“This one tastes really good, hyung. Did he make this?”

Hakyeon looked beyond Sanghyuk and into the doorway leading to the back room of the bakery. Taekwoon shook his head minutely and understanding, Hakyeon said, “Yes, he did.”

Before he knows it, Hakyeon’s nephew has taken a tray and fills it with two, three strawberry muffins.

“I’d like some to eat in class.”

He doesn’t stay to hear the rest. The young baker ducks back inside the back room, his determination to get those creampuffs filled perfectly grows.

* * *

The next Friday Sanghyuk drops by, he’s in a foul mood. He’s failed one of his exams and his parents want him to come home sooner, so he can put in extra hours for his internship at Han Realty. He was exhausted by it, really. Taking a business course instead of architecture or psychology wasn’t in his plans. But his mother and father had said that Sanghyuk was the most likely to take over for their company (since, she had said softly, her own brother had decided to leave home and open up that bakery of his).

Being the dutiful son that he was, Sanghyuk decides to drop by Paradise Bakery before he goes home.

It’s been awhile since he’s last seen the shop and there, in the glass window is Jung Taekwoon, his puppy crush. Paradise Bakery had expanded since its opening and while they still had the room at the back for test baking, all of the current products were prepared and baked in full view.

Sanghyuk frowns when he sees that the tall, broad baker has a little smile on his face, completely absorbed in the moment as he gently fills a cream puff before placing it on a rack with many others. Sanghyuk nearly drops his briefcase as he pushes his way to the front of the glass window—and he remembered what his uncle had told him.

He’d done it, and the baker looked extremely happy. Sanghyuk had the urge to kiss the smile off of Taekwoon’s lips; hadn’t he told the baker that he wasn’t allowed to smile in the presence of others?

What if someone else fell in love with him?

Before he could react properly though, the baker had taken out a long, rectangular sheet of chocolate cake. It looked glossy and shiny, cooled and ready for frosting. As Sanghyuk continued to watch, he wondered just how long his baker crush had practiced to get it just right. Leaving the cake on the counter, Taekwoon was preparing a soft pink cream next.

When Taekwoon looks up for a moment, he sees Sanghyuk and his cheeks turn as pink as the strawberry cream.

“Pretty,” Sanghyuk mouths, openly staring now amongst the crowd of high-school girls, boys and even some ahjummas that had stopped on their way home. There’s only an answering nod before the baker takes out a metal bowl full of ripe, rich strawberries. A few minutes later, the chocolate sheet cake was spread thick with pink cream and pretty pink strawberry slices, mixed in with some blueberries and even crimson-red cherries.

Sanghyuk feared that the cake Taekwoon was making would crumble underneath his strong, large hands but somehow the sheet cake held firm until it was neatly rolled up and covered in sweet powdered sugar.

The smile Taekwoon gives after he cuts into the cake is one of sheer bliss and Sanghyuk can’t take it anymore. He enters the shop, tarnished cowbell clanging loudly. Hakyeon’s at the register, wearing a smile that reaches his eyes. “Hey there, Hyogie. What’ll you have today?”

Sanghyuk points to the glass window. “What’s the new menu item? And when did you get that done?!”

Taekwoon enters then, a plain white plate in his hands, with a slice of the pretty roll cake he’d made earlier. “The window happened…a few weeks ago, I think? You were gone a long time.” He says this with a trace of sadness, and it makes Sanghyuk’s heart flutter. He’d noticed.

“My dentist said I should lay off the sweets for awhile,” the college boy found himself saying. “but I couldn’t stay away as long as he’d hoped.”

The truth was that Sanghyuk’s parents and his own schoolwork had given him little time to visit, and days had turned into weeks. Six months had passed since the college boy had first stepped into the bakery, one rainy Friday afternoon.

“Ah.” Taekwoon hums, and says softly, “This is the new menu item. Do…you want to try it?”

When Sanghyuk places a bite into his mouth, the intense flavors of dark chocolate and sweet, tart strawberry enveloped in a sweet cream attack him immediately. It’s dark and sweet all at once, bitter and gentle. Two contrasting things exploding into something tasty and beautiful.

“I…this is great, Taekwoon-hyung. What’s it called?”

There’s a certain sparkle behind Taekwoon’s dark eyes as he places the plate on the table before kissing Sanghyuk, spreading the taste of strawberry and chocolate in between their mouths. Out of surprise and desire, the college boy’s holding onto the front of Taekwoon’s shirt as he loses himself in their kiss, opening his mouth for Taekwoon’s tongue.

Sanghyuk feels dizzy and lightheaded, and wonders how the hell he got so lucky.

“Devilish Maknae.” He whispers, as their lips part.

“Does every slice come with a kiss?” He asks, witty even through his blushing cheeks.

Jung Taekwoon chuckles and embraces Sanghyuk. “Only for you.”


End file.
